AUMF, Never-Ending War, and America’s ‘Instruments of Tyranny’

“A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence agst. foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home.” -James Madison

As previously discussed in these spaces by Kelley Vlahos, Lucy Steigerwald, and myself, a group of senators are mulling a revision to the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force against those who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks. In Senate testimony today, several Pentagon officials tried to dissuade making any changes to the law, which has been notoriously beneficial to the expansion of the warfare state and terribly detrimental to the rule of law, government transparency, and human liberty in general.

Indeed, “the AUMF opened the doors to the US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya; attacks on Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Mali; the new drone bases in Niger and Djibouti; and the killing of American citizens, notably Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old noncombatant son,” write Michael Shank and Matt Southworth in the Guardian.

“It is what now emboldens the hawks on the warpath to Syria, Iran and North Korea,” they add.

One of the witnesses today, Assistant Secretary for Special Operations Michael Sheehan, said keeping the 2001 AUMF in place is important to facilitate the ongoing “war on terrorism,” which, he said, will last “at least ten to twenty [more] years.” And thanks to the terse wording of the law, that war has no geographic limit. Any individual or group unilaterally deemed an “associated force” by top officials can be targeted by the U.S. war machine anywhere in the world. And this extraordinary power cannot be rescinded until the overlords in the White House and the Pentagon say so.

It’s ironic that Sheehan made such a dramatic prediction of continuing to fight this “war,” if you can call it that, for another ten to twenty years when top national security officials have been noting publicly al-Qaeda’s growing irrelevance. Danger Room:

First, the 2001 AUMF was a wet dream for the Masters of War in Washington who yearn for the day when any and all constraints on their actions in the realm of “national security” would evaporate. It carries with it immense, unchecked power that they are wont to preserve.

Second, in order to continue to carry out their Imperial Grand Strategy, they need to perpetuate a bogeyman. Without a monster to destroy, the public is much less apt to grant the state carte blanche to make war at will and keep it secret.

In an interview last year, former Secretary of State Colin Powell lamented, in a moment of candor, the fall of the Soviet Union. He described, admittedly with some irony, how apparently remorseful he and others in the military establishment were that America “lost our best enemy.” He said it was “one of the biggest challenges” he “ever faced” when the Cold War ended. That is, when we became much safer as opposed to when we might have faced a new enemy.

Absent the pretext of the Soviet threat, the thinking goes, how will we justify the expanding military and national security state? Powell says of the trumped up Soviet “threat” in no uncertain terms, “we’ve got a good thing going here.” The system – the “whole structure,” as he calls it, far from aiming to eliminate threats, “depended on there being a Soviet Union that might attack us.”

Al-Qaeda’s unlikely success on 9/11 helped change all that, and ever since, Washington has had a bogeyman to help justify expanding the warfare state.

In the March/April 2012 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, Micah Zenko and Michael A. Cohen argue that we have a system that fuels unnecessary alarm and paranoia. “Warnings about a dangerous world also benefit powerful bureaucratic interests,” they write. “The specter of looming dangers sustains and justifies the massive budgets of the military and the intelligence agencies, along with the national security infrastructure that exists outside government — defense contractors, lobbying groups, think tanks, and academic departments.”

With any luck, the pleadings of the highest Pentagon officials won’t be heeded and AUMF can, as it should, be repealed. Unfortunately, that is not at all likely.

buy instagram followers Masters of War in Washington who yearn for the day when any and all constraints on their actions in the realm of “national security” would evaporate. It carries with it immense, unchecked power that they are wont to preserve. instagram likes

David John SEO

You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours. injustice game hack

AsharSeo

It’s hard to tell with these Internet start ups if they’re really interested in building companies or if they’re just interested in the money. I can tell you, though..the venus factor review

David John SEO

We are really grateful for your blog post. You will find a lot of approaches after visiting your post. Great work.health insurance

David John SEO

Great post I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this interesting and knowledgeable article.unique rings

David John SEO

I’m definitely going to look into it. Really very useful tips are provided here. Thank you so much. Keep up the good works. adult life insurance

AsharSeo

This is a wonderful article, Given so much info in it, These type of articles keeps the users interest in the website, and keep on sharing more … good luck. Draftkings

AsharSeo

I definitely enjoying every little bit of it. It is a great website and nice share. I want to thank you. Good job! You guys do a great blog, and have some great contents. Keep up the good work….the venus factor review

Word of love and appreciation and greeting fulfillment and private
Greeting fill all the meanings of brotherhood and friendship
Greetings from the Heart to Heart
Thank you with all my heart
GREAT ARTICLE TNX FOR WORK I LOVE THIS????? ???
and welcom to d great blog for cooking games^pkl

David John SEO

I have been basically harnessed with all the part of assets exhibiting the following. Large thumbs further up to produce this type of wonderful website website! SD Real Estate Hub

David John SEO

It help me very much to solve some problems. Its opportunity are so fantastic and working style so speedy…xarelto problems

David John SEO

It help me very much to solve some problems. Its opportunity are so fantastic and working style so speedy…xarelto problems

David John SEO

It help me very much to solve some problems. Its opportunity are so fantastic and working style so speedy..Top Rated Attorney

David John SEO

I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well.Top Rated Attorney

David John SEO

It is a great website and nice share. I want to thank you. Good job! You guys do a great blog, and have some great contents. Keep up the good work. Bard IVC Filter lawsuit

David John SEO

It is a great website and nice share. I want to thank you. Good job! You guys do a great blog, and have some great contents. Keep up the good work. Bard IVC Filter lawsuit

David John SEO

It is a great website and nice share. I want to thank you. Good job! You guys do a great blog, and have some great contents. Keep up the good work. Bard IVC Filter lawsuit

David John SEO

It is a great website and nice share. I want to thank you. Good job! You guys do a great blog, and have some great contents. Keep up the good work. Bard IVC Filter lawsuit

It opens you to the world and makes you grow. What could this mean for communications, branding and PR?amazon product

David John SEO

Great post i must say and thanks for the information. Education is definitely a sticky subject. dentist

David John SEO

That’s really amazing and extraordinary blogs & can help those who get issues in searching this type of information Top Rated Attorney

werokesu

the bigger social sites short links, IE YouTube is ytube.x, was surprised that it was a free service from bit.ly. Also very easy to setup once you've figured out the DNS settings. dedicated server

David John SEO

I think this is an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore. I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article http://proteccozumel.com/

David John SEO

I think this is an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore. I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article http://proteccozumel.com/

werokesu

Stormy, made with rum and ginger beer (too strong for my liking), and the Rum Swizzle, a fruitier concoction that went down a lot smoother. Finally we danced it off at The Pickled Onion down the block.My Cheap Price blog comments here

loardsmith

Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.facebook